ESFA National Finals, National Competitions

U16 B Team Cup – Joint National Champions Crowned

Sandbach School and Hampton School crowned champions in the 2019/20 U16 B Team Schools’ Cup for Boys Competition

Hampton v St Aloysius’, ESFA U18 semi final, 12-02-2020
U16 B Team squad in 2019 at the PlayStation Schools’ Cup U15 National Final

The English Schools’ FA has declared Sandbach School (South Cheshire SFA) and Hampton School (Richmond SFA) joint champions of the ESFA Under 16 B Team Schools’ Cup for Boys for Season 2019-2020.

The decision has been taken after Covid-19 prematurely ended the season and it was established that it would not be feasible to host the National Final after the school summer holiday. 

Sandbach School started their campaign with a 2-0 away win at Fallibroome School (Macclesfield) win with a 2-0.  In round two the Cheshire based school hosted perennial national champion, Thomas Telford School and managed to secure a memorable 1-0 win before defeating St Ambrose College from Trafford, 2-1, in round three.  Sandbach enjoyed a 3-1 win against Wolfreton School from East Riding in the Quarter-Final and subsequently earned a place in the final with a 1-0 win at home to St Francis Xavier’s College from Liverpool.

Hampton School made use of their home advantage in round one with a 3-0 win against The Forest School from North Sussex, before edging past The Swanage School (Poole) with a 1-0 win in round two.  Rounds three and four proved to be more straight forward for the Richmond based school as they enjoyed 7-0 wins against Steyning Grammar School (Worthing) and Tiverton High School (Devon).  The Hampton boys earned a place in the semi-final with a closely fought 1-0 at home to St Aloysius from Islington and Camden.

Darren Alcock, ESFA National Competitions Manager said “Players and staff at Sandbach School and Hampton School have worked incredibly hard to reach this English Schools’ FA Cup Final.  It isn’t necessarily the way in which we envisaged bringing the competitions to a conclusion, but in the circumstances, we are very pleased to have reached a resolution which recognises the effort, skill and determination of those involved with both teams.  To be crowned a National Champion is an extremely prestigious honour, so we hope that the players, staff and school communities will enjoy this accolade and we wish the players well in their future football endeavours.” 

David Burke, Director of Football at Hampton School said “To see three Hampton football teams named as joint winners of their respective 2020 English Schools’ FA Cup competitions is a phenomenal achievement and our teams’ success will be celebrated by all in the Hampton community. We would also like to congratulate Everton Free School, Brooke House College and Sandbach High School, on being named joint winners in the U18, U16 and U16B tournaments. The English Schools’ FA Cup competitions showcase the best of English schoolboy football and we are thrilled that Hampton footballers continue to perform well in these national competitions. We are delighted that the boys at the senior end of the school have been rewarded for all their commitment and hard work throughout their years at Hampton and would like to thank everyone who has been involved. We will display the trophies with pride.”

Mike  Southern, Master in Charge of Football at Sandbach School said “We were delighted to see that Sandbach School crowned joint winners of the U16 English Schools cup to follow our previous 2 years success. We were amazed to see that Hampton would be our opponents for the third successive season and couldn’t think of a a more fitting school to share the prize with. Our other encounters have both been tightly fought contests with us just coming out on top both times.  

For our School to compete on the same stage as a school with a football program of that magnitude is a credit to out players and the staff and the strides we have made in previous years to develop and cultivate the talent we have here. The U16 squad, some of who will leave us now,   have been the first crop of our new model at the school and we hope to be competing at National level on a regular basis. We are delighted for all members of the squad and when the time is right will get back together to celebrate an unprecedented level of success that have achieved.”

ESFA National Finals, National Competitions

U16 Schools’ Cup – Joint National Champions Crowned

Brooke House College and Hampton School crowned champions in the 2019/20 U16 National Cup for Boys Competition

The English Schools’ FA has declared Brooke House College (South Leicestershire SFA) and Hampton School (Richmond SFA) joint champions of the ESFA Under 16 Schools’ Cup for Boys for Season 2019-2020.

The decision has been taken after Covid-19 prematurely ended the season and it was established that it would not be feasible to host the National Final after the school summer holiday.  

After a bye in Round One, Brooke House College enjoyed emphatic 9-0 and 8-0 wins against Weavers Academy and Vandyke Upper School, respectively, in rounds two and three of the competition.   Rounds four and five saw the Leicestershire based school enjoy more comfortable matches with a 5-1 win against Wigston Academy and a 3-0 win over Boston Grammar School.   The goals continued to flow for Brooke House in round six, with a 6-3 away win at Abbeyfield School from Northampton, before they earned a hard fought 3-1 win at Summerhill School (Brierley Hill & Dudley).   The Brooke House forward line proved to be as clinical as ever in the Quarter-Final, with a 6-0 home with against St Matthew’s High School from Manchester and then continued with a closely fought 3-2 win in the Semi-Final against Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School from Liverpool, to earn a place in the final.

Like Brooke House, Hampton gained a bye in round two and dispatched their round two opponents with a thumping 10-2 win against Marlborough Science Academy from St Albans.   Round three proved to be a trickier encounter as Hampton required extra time to overcome Moulsham Academy from Chelmsford with a 3-2 win.   Another 3-2 win followed for Hampton in Round 4 against Ravens Wood from Bromley, before they travelled to Charters School in East Berkshire to record a 4-1 win. The Richmond based school earned another hard-fought 2-0 win in round six at Lealands High School from Luton, before edging past St Peter’s College (Solihull) on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 scoreline, after extra time.   In the Quarter-Final, the Hampton boys enjoyed a long journey down to Exeter to earn a 3-0 win against St Peter’s C of E High School and followed that up with another impressive away win in the Semi-Final, with a 3-2 win against Ark Alexandra Academy from South East Sussex.

Darren Alcock, ESFA National Competitions Manager said “Players and staff at Brooke House College and Hampton School have worked incredibly hard to reach this English Schools’ FA Cup Final.   It isn’t necessarily the way in which we envisaged bringing the competitions to a conclusion, but in the circumstances, we are very pleased to have reached a resolution which recognises the effort, skill and determination of those involved with both teams.   To be crowned a National Champion is an extremely prestigious honour, so we hope that the players, staff and school communities will enjoy this accolade and we wish the players well in their future football endeavours.”  

Istvan Kislorincz and Niall Ogrady, Brooke House College said “Brooke House National Champions Again!   All staff at Brooke House College would like to congratulate the students of the U16 squad on becoming joint National Champions in the 2019-20 season. The players desire, work ethic and commitment across the competition and season has been rewarded and all staff are extremely proud of this group.

Brooke House U16 team started the season in three ESFA National Competitions progressing to the latter stages of all competitions and so had a hectic fixture schedule across the first half of the season, especially in the Schools’ Cup. The U16 Squad looked comfortable in the early rounds of the Competition however going into Round 6 onwards tough challenges started to appear with difficult games away at Abbeyfield School and Summerhill School. After meeting those challenges Brooke House progressed through Round 8 to have a Home Semi Final Tie to Cardinal Heenan, this Semi Final Tie had extra excitement in the build-up as both sides met 2 weeks previous in a close ESFA Elite Schools Semi Final Tie. The game once again was very close and on the day credit to Brooke House striker, Victor, who scored all three goals to book Brooke House a place in the U16 Schools’ Cup Final.”

David Burke, Director of Football at Hampton School: “To see three Hampton football teams named as joint winners of their respective 2020 English Schools’ FA Cup competitions is a phenomenal achievement and our teams’ success will be celebrated by all in the Hampton community. We would also like to congratulate Everton Free School, Brooke House College and Sandbach High School, on being named joint winners in the U18, U16 and U16B tournaments. The English Schools’ FA Cup competitions showcase the best of English schoolboy football and we are thrilled that Hampton footballers continue to perform well in these national competitions. We are delighted that the boys at the senior end of the school have been rewarded for all their commitment and hard work throughout their years at Hampton and would like to thank everyone who has been involved. We will display the trophies with pride.”


John Spence Community High School lifting the trophy in 2019, who now lose their title to joint winners Hampton School and Brooke House College, 2020